How To Pick A Good Watermelon
Here are six tips for How to Pick a Good Watermelon that’s ripe and sweet, gathered from lots of conversations with produce people, farmers, and personal experience. If you know how to check for things like the field spot, it makes the selection process much easier!

Picking out a watermelon at the grocery store was always a semi-anxiety plagued experience for me when I didn’t know what I was looking for. If you pick a bad one, you’re stuck with 15-20 whopping pounds of watermelon terribleness. And then your options are to either force yourself to eat this yucky watermelon or throw it away…and both are less than desirable options. There have been a few times where I ended up throwing it out because it tasted like a crunchy watermelon rind cucumber, and no one in my family would eat it.
My goal today is to help you pick a sweet, ripe watermelon because I know how disappointing it is to get home, take your first bite of some sort of produce you buy, only to find out it isn’t good. All the tips here are tidbits I have gathered from personal experience and lots of conversations with produce people and farmers.
Tip #1: Find the Field Spot
If you don’t even read the other tips, I find this is the biggest indicator of a good watermelon.
The field spot is a creamy spot on the outside, and it’s where the watermelon was resting on the ground. The field spot should be a yellowish creamy color, like shown with my watermelon:

The more dark yellow the field spot is, the longer it was on the vine sweetening up. If the field spot is white (or not even there), this indicates an underripe melon.
What’s interesting is you’ll notice that the other side of the same watermelon looks completely different:

It’s much prettier and more typical of what I picture when I think of a watermelon, and that’s okay. I find that the best watermelons I buy can sometimes look really gnarly on one side where it was resting on the ground, and then unblemished on the other. But you don’t want it to look perfectly green all the way around.
Tip #2: Pick a Dull Looking Exterior
A shiny exterior appearance indicates an underripe watermelon, though this can be a bit tricky if they’ve added wax, and then you can’t really tell. This applies to honeydew melons too. Don’t be put off by a dull looking watermelon.
Tip #3: Knock on It with Your Knuckles
Your knuckles should bounce off the melon, and the surface should be pretty hard and firm. You will get a dull thud if the flesh is soft, which indicates it’s starting to spoil. If you don’t want to knock with your knuckles, then you can push firmly with the tip of your thumb. Ideally there should be little or no give when you push in.
Tip #4: Get the Heaviest One for Its Size

This applies to pretty much all produce, but you want to pick the watermelon that is the heaviest one for its size. That means there’s more water in it.
The watermelon pictured above here in my post was a whopping 18 pounds! It was heavier than the other comparably sized melons around it. It’s more bang for your buck too.
Tip #5: Check for a Uniform Shape
Some watermelons are round, some are oval, and either is fine. They are just different varieties. But if there are irregular bumps, this indicates the melon may have gotten inconsistent amounts of sun or water, and you should avoid that one.
Tip #6: Look for the Sugar Spots and Pollination Points

This tip was emailed to me many months ago by Tom, a produce manager for a major grocery chain. If you see black spots on the melon (as pictured above), this is where sugar is seeping out and indicates a sweet melon. Also, if you see dots in a line (not a scratch), these are pollination points, and the more of them the better. I’ve been looking for these every time I pick up a melon and have had great luck with it in addition to the other tips. Thank you, Tom!
Once you’ve picked out a good watermelon, take a look at my quick guide for How to Cut a Watermelon, which is how I always cut watermelon to keep in the fridge, but is an especially great to way to serve watermelon for parties and entertaining.

It is SO much easier than cutting the typical triangles that include the rind, and you can either cut it into sticks or cubes:

Click the photo above for my guide on cutting watermelon. Enjoy!
More Tips and FAQ
If it’s cut, the watermelon must be stored in the fridge and can be kept for up to 5 days. An uncut watermelon can be kept at room temperature for a few days, but I find it’s best to get it into the fridge as quickly as possible, especially since watermelons do not ripen further on the counter.
Yes, but it’s not something you’ll want to eat again in a thawed state. I freeze watermelon to blend into a Watermelon Slushie or as ice cubes for Summer Drinks.
Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.

How to Pick a Good Watermelon
Ingredients
- 1 large watermelon
Instructions
- Find the Field Spot – Look for a deep yellow color. If there’s a white field spot, or no field spot at all, it likely won’t be good.
- Pick a Dull Looking Watermelon – A shiny appearance indicates an underripe melon.
- Knock on It with Your Knuckles – Your knuckles should bounce off the melon, and the surface should be pretty hard/firm. Soft flesh indicates it’s starting to spoil.
- Get the Heaviest One for Its Size – This applies to pretty much all produce, but you want to pick the watermelon that is the heaviest one for its size. That means there’s more water in it.
- Check for a Uniform Shape – Some watermelons are round, some are oval, and either is fine. But if there are irregular bumps, this indicates the melon may have gotten inconsistent amounts of sun or water.
- Look for the Sugar Spots and Pollination Points – If you see black spots on the melon, this is where sugar is seeping out and indicates a sweet melon. Also, if you see dots in a line (not a scratch), these are pollination points, and the more of them the better.
- If you want an easy way to cut the watermelon into sticks or cubes, see my How to Cut a Watermelon post. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated with new photos and more tips in June 2018. Originally published April 2011.
282 Comments on “How To Pick A Good Watermelon”
So what type of sound should the watermelon make? A loud echo?
Thanks!
Hi Amanda, I recommend you go more off the feeling of the knuckles on the melon. The melon should be firm and your knuckles should bounce off the surface.
I just wanted you to know that I followed your suggestions and picked a perfect watermelon at the store today! I just opened it, and had to have a sample (of course) and it is sweet right to the rind!
Thanks so much for the information!
Hi Michele, I’m so happy to hear that! Glad you picked out a great watermelon =)
yep…i’ve been doing it all wrong. this was an eye opener for sure…thanks
Hi! I wanted to thank you for your wonderful advice!
But I wanted to ask… How can you tell if they’re slices? I most shops I go to here sell watermelon slices and hardly ever do they sell the whole thing. Is there anything in common with the watermelons you pick up when they’re cut?
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this! I think I’ve cracked the code with watermelons this year. Too bad my family had to suffer through some bad ones over the years! (I’m sharing this on my FB page!)
My question is how do prevent getting am OVER ripe one?? This has happened to me too many times.
Hi Kate, the only thing I know as far as overripe watermelons is to knock on the watermelon, and if your knuckles don’t bounce off the melon well and the melon is soft, that indicates that it is overripe and heading toward spoilage. Maybe others will have some ideas as well…there are some great people following the comments on this post!
Can’t wait to go to the store and use these tips. I am a watermelon freak!
I agree with everything except the thumping. I’ve seen so many people thumping melons in the store and walking off with sorry melons it’s frightening. I’ve was taught to go by weight. If that puppy makes you drop to the floor (comparative to it’s size) then you’ve more than likely got a winner.
I’ve had people looking at me like I was crazy because I will work my way through a bin of watermelons until I find the one I want.
Great Tips! I will definitely employ these this summer!
So happy I found this. I love watermelon, but not terrible ones!
Don’t forget to look for the bee stings! All of those black bumps that make it look ugly. That is one sweet melon.
I’m a super fan of watermelon. Every mother’s day this is my request from my husband and kids, so I get four melons from each. I buy like one a week and recently ate so much watermelon that I’ve gain 4lbs from it. These tips are great! Thanks
You gained weight from watermelon.Do you have a medical condition that caused the weight gain?Water is a negative calorie food because it takes calories to digest which means you burn off more calories from the watermelon than you consume.Did you put sugar and/or salt on it?I am a bit perturbed because shouldnt gain weight from eating watermelon.I can eat a whole watermelon in a day.When I get one too ripe/soft I throw it in the fridge for a day then into the blender for some ice cold watermelon juice.It’s official I am going to wally right now and pick me up a watermelon or two.
as a diabetic I can tell you watermelon is very bad for you because it is full of sugar.
Sugar content aside, it is a low-calorie food. A pound would mean getting about 3500 calories more PER DAY. I doubt the watermelon caused the weight gain. Maybe, the salt on it caused water retention.
Love it! We are in Texas and eat a LOT of watermelon in the summer, as they grow crazy in this heat. Thanks for the tips:).
Great tip! I will definitely do this soon!
Hi!
I just wanted to say a big, fat, “Thank You!” for your awesome watermelon-picking tips! I’ve never been able to pick out a good watermelon (occasionally I would stumble upon one by pure chance but that rarely happened)- yesterday however I went to the grocery store and picked out a watermelon using your tips, and lo and behold, when I sliced it today I discovered it was the SWEET, RIPE, DELICIOUS, ABSOLUTELY PERFECT WATERMELON OF MY DREAMS!!!!! I can now buy watermelons with confidence……never again will I be doomed to buying a crappy underripe watermelon. You are awesome! Thanks again for these tips – I will proudly be one of those weirdos knocking on fruit in the grocery store from now on!!!!!!
Hi Jaime, yay, how wonderful!!! So glad the tips have helped you. There are also some more fantastic tips/indicators from other people in the comments section that hopefully you have seen as well.
linda
I agree with Jaime h. the best watermelon tip ever for years I have had bad luck
” now i’m free”:) THANKS!!